Report: Babcock will coach Team Canada

According to a report in the Toronto Globe and Mail Tuesday, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock will be named head coach of the 2010 Canadian Olympic men's hockey team in Montreal Thursday.

According to the Globe and Mail report, Hockey Canada has been secretive about who would coach Team Canada at the 2010 Games in Vancouver.

Steve Yzerman, the executive director of Canada's Olympic team, who knows Babcock very well from their time with the Red Wings, is expected to make the announcement Thursday as the hockey world gathers in Montreal for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Babcock has a career coaching record of 282-139-71 in the NHL and already has 58 postseason victories, leading the Wings to the 2008 Stanley Cup and to Game 7 of the '09 Cup finals against Pittsburgh.

Since moving to Detroit from Anaheim, Babcock has enjoyed tremendous success, coaching four-straight seasons of 50 or more wins. Internationally, he became the first Canadian coach to serve as bench boss for both the Canadian World Junior team and Canadian World Championship team, winning titles in 1997 and 2004, repsectively.